The Do It Yourself Lobotomy: Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

Book Description

An Adweek Book
Master the techniques that top companies use to spark creativity
In today's business environment, gaining the competitive edge through creative and original thinking is a crucial component of brand strategy. Creative leader of advertising Tom Monahan offers a fresh look at the subject, providing hard and fast methods for freeing the mind and inspiring active creativity in oneself and others. His 180-degree Thinking(TM), 100 MPH Method, and other techniques he employs in his creative consulting practice are easy-to-use strategies for unleashing new ideas and facilitating creative product development, advertising, and marketing plans. This book has the added benefit of Monahan's experience of using these methods at A-list client companies.

Customer Reviews:

Demystifies creativity, and a fun read.......2003-10-26

Brining big ideas to my job is now easier than ever. In an entertaining manner this book helps to codify a process that is almost impossible to contain and explain. The author first breaks down the creative "process" then gives the reader easy to learn, simple to use thinking tools to help jump start the imagination when you need to. I've used many of the suggestions and methods and they have helped me go beyond the same old ideas in my category. My supervisor is amazed at my new found resource. The chapters about brainstorming, selling and managing for more creativity could have been books of their own. I've seen nothing like it in other books on creative thinking. I'm not sure why this book has been bashed by a few readers. Maybe advertising types believe they already know this. I've been on the business side of health care for 17 years and this is a very refreshing, effective way to think.

Done with books on creative thinking.......2003-08-28

This is the fourth or fifth book on creative thinking I've read that tries to mimic the classic "Thinkertoys" in some fashion or other. Through buying and reading books of this type and learning nothing new.

Not nearly as impressed w/the author as he is w/himself.......2003-08-06

Okay- I realize that negative reviews tend to get "No, this review didn't help me" votes, but seriously - if I can stop ONE person from wasting their money & time, I've gotta brave it.

I'm a big fan of the ADWEEK books... but this one...

First- the author spends the first 40+ pages telling you about the "impressive" (his word) list of companies he's worked with and how brilliant and successful he is and the importance of this topic. He even says that the reason his techniques (and they are NOT his alone- but more on that in a second) are so successful is b/c of the names he's given them (he's even got little "TM"s next to some of them)- Anyway- did you get that- it's not the ideas! It's the NAMES! Now that is a creative argument.

He also wastes a PROFOUND amount of time telling you about the domain of creativity. I know that should be an important topic- but how many times and ways do I have to hear that talent (say, ability to draw) is not the same thing as creativity. He even puts in a picture his dad painted and bashes it as talented (accurate rendering) but not creative (painted from another painting). He also spends a frightening amount of time telling you how his ideas will help you. It should have taken maybe 5 pages- he took 69. You spend nearly 70 pages feeling like you are reading an infomercial for his seminars. A personal pet peeve of mine are these little Rolodex-looking cards he has printed throughout that are written by companies talking about how helpful his seminars and ideas were to developing ideas. If they were case studies, this might have been helpful- instead it's more "Gosh- his seminar/technique sure did help us, and we are selling more t-shirts than ever!" Again, I only learned how important and significant this Monahan guy is.

Now- the tools he uses... it's not that his tools are useless- it's that there are so FEW of them and there is not one single thing he discusses in his book that isn't covered in Thinkertoys (and some are even in Hey Whipple Squeeze This). Not only that, but they are covered in more depth in Thinkertoys, with better and more thorough examples, and there are more ideas overall in that book (there are only 7 here-there are TONS in Thinkertoys).

Honestly- I could bash this book all day- let me just PLEASE save you some time and energy- get Thinkertoys (and if you are really specifically interested in the creative process in advertising- Hey Whipple) and SAVE YOUR TIME. You will not miss SQUAT.

Where's the Big Idea? A review in 45 words........2003-01-19

Authored by a repeatedly self-described creative genius, this looks at how new ideas build businesses and how you can use his service marked techniques to do it too. No great ideas, but the section on how to present work is worth the price (when discounted). (45)

I'd try "Cracking Creativity" first for great techniques.

Practical creativity.......2002-08-14

This book takes a down-to-earth approach to an elusive subject, with lots of real world examples of how unmysterious creativity can be in everyday life and in business. It's fun to read. Lots of inspiration. Yes, the "thinking tools" are a bit contrived, but I think that's the author's point; when you're stuck, and inspiration isn't coming, maybe a little calculated thinking is what's needed. I have already used some of these thinking methods with great success, but the guidance and motivation has been even more valuable. I'd love my boss, coworkers and clients to read Lobotomy.

This is not an advertising book, as the author states and shouldn't be judged that way. It's a book about creative thinking that can be applied to anything - even advertising.

Book Description

Inhalt dieses Buchs ist eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der Zweckmäßigkeit der Performancemessung bei Wertpapier-Investmentfonds als Entscheidungshilfe aus Sicht des Fondsanlegers und des Fondsmanagements. Es wird, ausgehend von einer zweidimensionalen Performancemessung, ein Ansatz vertreten, der die Zielsetzungen der Performance-Adressaten integriert und die Principle-Agent-Problematik bei Investmentfonds berücksichtigt. Dies bedingt eine Abkehr von einem einheitlichen Meßsystem und die Hinwendung zu einer adressatenspezifischen Performancemessung. Für das Fondsmanagement bedeutet dies zum Beispiel, daß nur beeinflußbare Erfolgsdeterminanten in die Performancemessung einbezogen werden dürfen (Verantwortungsprinzip).

Book Description

Throughout the long history of the Western legal tradition, custom and law have been integrally related in both theory and practice. Their relationship is embodied by the Anglo-American concept of the common law. Nevertheless, the twentieth century witnessed a drastic decline in the importance of the common law in the very countries in which it once flourished. In this interdisciplinary work of theological ethics and legal theory, David VanDrunen explores the relationship of custom and law in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. VanDrunen argues that Aquinas's concern for custom was a central aspect of his theology of law and was grounded in broader elements of his theological and ethical thought. Aquinas's insights on the necessity of attention to custom for the formation of a just legal system, VanDrunen concludes, suggest many reasons for a renewal of interest in the common law in the contemporary world.

Book Description

Defects in ion-implanted semiconductors are important and will likely gain increased importance as annealing temperatures are reduced with successive IC generations. Novel implant approaches, such as MdV implantation, create new types of defects whose origin and annealing characteristics will need to be addressed. Publications in this field mainly focus on the effects of ion implantation on the material and the modification in the implanted layer after high temperature annealing. The editors of this volume and Volume 45 focus on the physics of the annealing kinetics of the damaged layer. An overview of characterization tehniques and a critical comparison of the information on annealing kinetics is also presented.

Key Features
* Provides basic knowledge of ion implantation-induced defects
* Focuses on physical mechanisms of defect annealing
* Utilizes electrical, physical, and optical characterization tools for processed semiconductors
* Provides the basis for understanding the problems caused by the defects generated by implantation and the means for their characterization and elimination

Book Description

Writing in a style that can best be described as Â“tempered sarcasmÂ”, Duane brings to the literary world a unique blend of humor and insight through the detailed lives of his stuffed creatures.

Second in a series, Tao of Boo examines the thought patterns and philosophies of the floppy World of Boo characters.

Customer Reviews:

Author scores again.......2003-07-31

Great book. Offers many pearls of wisdom . You'll love the book. Great conversation piece. A fun and quick read.

Sarcastic Boo.......2003-07-31

For those who like sarcasm, these witicisms (like the observations about a class reunion), cut to the chase. These bunnies pull no (rabbit) punches !

Average customer rating:

A Time for Peace

I am not convinced ...

Great book to understand how to achieve peace

Do the authors follow their own advice?

That Their Pain Will Not Be In Vain

Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century
Robert S. McNamara , and James G. Blight
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam

The Fog of War: Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy

Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations

Painful Choices: A Theory of Foreign Policy Change

ASIN: 1891620894
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Amazon.com

The 20th century was the bloodiest in world history, and it is a moral imperative for humanity not to repeat the mistakes that made those hundred years so numbingly violent. In Wilson's Ghost, Robert S. McNamara, U.S. secretary of defense during the Vietnam War, and James G. Blight, an expert on international relations, look to Woodrow Wilson for inspiration. (Previously, McNamara and Blight collaborated on Argument Without End.) President Wilson, they say, "was one of the first leaders of the 20th century to sense that without radical political changes, the human race might destroy itself in ever greater numbers in what he called metaphorically the 'typhoon'--catastrophic wars of ever greater destructiveness." Wilson, however, "failed utterly" in his goal of making the United States and other countries "take a thoroughly multilateral approach to issues of international security."

McNamara and Blight offer advice on how to achieve Wilson's dream today. This makes them, to use the lingo of diplomats, foreign-policy idealists: "It seems to us that the realists are in fact unreal in their analysis of the world in the 21st century," they write. They call for "bringing Russia and China in from the cold," by which they mean Americans should treat the Russians and Chinese more like equals than they do currently. The United States, in short, must "not apply its economic, political, or military power unilaterally, other than in the unlikely circumstances of a defense of the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska." McNamara and Blight assert that developing antiballistic technologies will lead to "an increased risk of arms races, instability, and even nuclear war." Readers whose foreign policy runs left-of-center will appreciate the authors' efforts and find it a pleasing contrast to a recent right-of-center foreign-policy tome, Henry Kissinger's Does America Need a Foreign Policy? --John J. Miller

Book Description

A passionate manifesto on what exactly we can and must do to prevent devastating global conflicts in the century ahead.

Woodrow Wilson's vision of a collective international action to resist aggressive conflict after the carnage of World War I failed tragically. Over 160 million people died in war during the 20th century, and in Wilson's Ghost, Robert S. McNamara and James G. Blight put forth a decisive, multi-faceted action program for realizing Wilson's dream during this century. The plan begins with a moral imperative that establishes as a major goal of foreign policy across the globe the avoidance of war. To that end, enforcement entails only multilateral intervention on the part of the United States; full reconciliation with Russia and China to integrate those nations into relations with the other Great Powers; restructuring the United Nations to greater effectiveness; defining and deterring war crimes; creating UN enforcement; and finally, reducing nuclear danger by eliminating the huge arsenal held by the United States and Russia, and by signing into law the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The authors support their plan with specific, achievable steps that can begin now to ensure a more peaceful 21st century.

Customer Reviews:

A Time for Peace.......2007-07-25

For many years as a theologian and student of international relations I have struggled with the postions of "idealism" and "political realism" of political thought and practice. Robert McNamara and James Blight have come to us with an impassioned plea for a new direction in human affairs to help prevent killing on a massive scale that was part of the 20th century and could be part of the 21st century unless humanity makes a purposeful and concerted effort to change.

I found the book engaging in format and offering a compelling vision for a new world order. Of course, there will be many who will suggest that such a vision is utopian madness. However, we need to keep in mind that before there can be any paradigmatic changes in world order there has to be a new vision for the world that inspires humanity to a more just and peaceful order. Otherwise, we will be mired in the past way of doing things and will tend to repeat the mistakes of the past. McNamara reminds us that to do that, in world of nuclear weapons, is to risk unprecedented catastrophe.

Whether you agree or disagree with the authors you should read this book. We need all the ideas we can muster to promote a new and saner world order. After all, is not the definition of insanity as that of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

I am not convinced ..........2006-02-15

I picked up "Wilson's Ghost" after I read "In Retrospect" by McNamera. The writing style of "Ghost" is different from "Retrospect", that I suspect Blight wrote most of it, leaving McNamera filling in details regarding statistics and the cold war.

The premise of the book can be summed up in one line: "Unilaterism can lead to bloodshed". Merits must be given to Blight (and McNamera) for predicting the trend towards unilaterism in recent American foreign policy, before 9/11.

The Wilson's ghost scenario is a good starting point to illustrate the downward spiral that we may run into, however, the arguments presented in the book appear a little far-fetched at point (e.g., the "betrayal" of former Eastern Bloc and China). Perhaps this comes from thinning out the meaning of Wilson's ghost a little too far ... when all you have is a hammer, everything else will start to look like nails. The Afterword, written in the wake of 9/11, seems all too much like a contrived effort to justify the recent US involvement in the middle-east.

It has a good premise, but the book was too coherent to be effective. Unlike "In Retrospect", I am not convinced.

Great book to understand how to achieve peace.......2005-04-25

The dangers of unilateralism are clearly presented in this book. Top notch.

Do the authors follow their own advice? .......2005-02-14

I thought this book was amazing until I got to the material added after 9 / 11. For all of the authors' talk about empathizing with the enemy, their discussion of misunderstandings between Americans and the Muslim world, particularly the fundamentalists responsible for terrorist attacks, smack of the essentializing moves that created such a dangerous situation in the first place. There are two pages that seem a variation on the "He said" "She said" dialogue.
However, the IDEAS here are wonderful. This book needs to be read by anyone concerned with our present and future.

That Their Pain Will Not Be In Vain.......2004-12-20

I am not a student of history or war, but a therapist to people who have participated in the horror of it. As enlisted men, officers and even former enemies they got past it, but never got over it. The soldiers and officers I have seen have been unable to effectively keep the "code of silence" that plays up the glory and plays down the gory details of war to others and more costly to themselves. What started as a leak into their dreams and daytime activities slowly but inexorably metastasized throughout their lives leaving any chance for peace of mind in its wake.

Many of them were initially seduced and then addicted to the excitement of war not realizing until too late how the thrill of an adrenaline rush is only exceeded by the devastation from an adrenaline crash.

The psychological devastation that war causes is not knowing how to proceed after you've become aware that as invincible as you thought you were was as vulnerable as you turned out to be; as bulletproof as you thought your were was as fragile as you turned out to be; and as certain as you thought your were was as wrong as you turned out to be. How do you move forward with these realizations playing like an unending tape loop in your head? Add to this the bewilderment about what the war was about anyway.

A few years ago one of these patients summed up war this way: "The seducing, using, and in the end discarding of young men to wage a battle between the egos of older men who in the name of God desperately try to hold onto power they never deserved to have in the first place."

McNamara's book is not just pungent and poignant, it is a poultice of validation that what these people must live with in their imaginations in not imaginary. And maybe, just maybe that the pain they still endure will not be in vain.

Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century. (book review): An article from: Ploughshares Monitor

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Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century. (book review): An article from: Ploughshares Monitor

Manufacturer: Project Ploughshares
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: B0008IL5FS
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Ploughshares Monitor, published by Project Ploughshares on December 1, 2001. The length of the article is 484 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century. (book review)
Publication: Ploughshares Monitor (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: Project Ploughshares
Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Page: 7(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century.(Review): An article from: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century.(Review): An article from: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Walter C. Uhler
Manufacturer: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: B0008IFKRM
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. on November 1, 2001. The length of the article is 723 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing, and Catastrophe in the 21st Century.(Review)
Author: Walter C. Uhler
Publication: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2001
Publisher: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
Volume: 57 Issue: 6 Page: 70(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This informative study helps to complete the saga of the Choctaw by documenting the life and culture of those who escaped removal. It is an account that until now has been left largely untold.

The Choctaw Indians, once one of the largest and most advanced tribes in North America, have mainly been studied as the first victims of removal during the Jacksonian era. After signing the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, the great mass of the tribe--about 20,000 of perhaps 25,000--was resettled in what is present-day Oklahoma. What became of the thousands that remained?

The history of the Choctaw remaining in Mississippi has been given only scant attention by scholars, and generally it has been forgotten by the public. As this new book points out, several thousand remained on individual land allotments or as itinerant farm workers and continued to follow old customs. Many of mixed-blood abandoned their ancestral ways and were merged into the white community. Some faded into the wilderness.

Despite many obstacles, the remnants of this Mississippi Choctaw society endured and in the modern era through federal legislation have been recognized as a society known as the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Book Description

Includes review of thermodynamic relations, power and refrigeration cycles, mixtures and solutions, chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, and flow through nozzles and blade passages.

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Essentials of Thermodynamics II
Research and Education Association Staff; Fogiel
Manufacturer: Research & Education Assn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VWABM4

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on June 1, 2004. The length of the article is 535 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Changing Roles in Natural Forest Management: Stakeholders' Roles in the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania.(Reviews)(Book Review)
Author: Bill Gould
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2004
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: 170 Issue: 2 Page: 167(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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